The main objective of the Sector Training team in 2025 was to prepare implementation and monitoring models for the Digirail project training programmes. Good implementation models, i.e., curricula and training models, alone do not guarantee the success of training programmes. Monitoring models are also needed to ensure the quality and timeliness of the training and to understand the development needs of the operating models at different stages of the process.
Monitoring models refer to the systematic monitoring of training implementation, quality control, and collection of feedback at both project level and in the sector organizations. These models aim to ensure that training progresses as planned and meets the requirements set out in the Digirail curriculum. When the quality of the training and the development of skills and competences are systematically assessed throughout the entire training path, comparable data can be obtained. This allows development measures to be targeted precisely where they are most needed.
Objectives and methods for ensuring the quality of training
Two objectives have been set for quality assurance in training. The first objective is to obtain feedback on the success of the training so that the programme can be developed and improved already during the training process for the first commercial track section (EKA, Tampere-Pori/Rauma). The second objective is to gather information on both the success of the training and the suitability of the quality assurance methods for the project’s implementation phase.
Since the objectives are twofold, it has been decided to use a variety of data collection methods for quality assurance. These included, among other things, ensuring competence after the training programme, a self-assessment method for trainees, various feedback surveys, 360-degree evaluation of trainers, and monitoring of errors and deviations during the test phases and operational work. These methods are intended to provide comprehensive and comparable information on the success of training and on the areas of improvement at different stages of the process.
Consistent feedback collection practices for everyone involved
Feedback surveys will be conducted several times during the training programmes. This will make it possible to identify the sections or modules that are in need of improvement. All training feedback surveys and all organisations will use the same rating scale (e.g., 1–6) and the same statements for as long as possible and reasonable. When the survey is standardised, providing responses is easy, and the responses obtained are comparable between different stages of training and among different professional groups.
The primary objective of training is to ensure that the operational personnel are sufficiently prepared to operate safely on the ETCS track in accordance with regulations and instructions, both in normal situations and in disruptions. In quality control, this is taken into account by collecting feedback not only during training, but also for up to six months after the start of operative traffic. This will ensure that the training provided has given participants sufficient skills for practical work and for developing their expertise in everyday situations.
Looking ahead
The data collected using quality assurance methods will be processed by the Digirail project into information that can be used to develop training within the project, in organisations and possibly across the entire industry. Effective training of high quality is important, as ETCS expertise must be rapidly replicated in the rail sector when construction accelerates during the implementation phase of the Digirail project.
The implementation and monitoring models for training are unlikely to remain entirely unchanged throughout the implementation phase, as ETCS expertise in the industry will continue to grow and develop as the project moves forward. When developing competence, it is important to recognise mistakes, learn from them, and be bold in making small improvements and, if necessary, even larger changes to the operating practices. This will ensure that the rail sector has skilled and professional personnel also in the ETCS era.